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New Red Bull Formula 1 driver Sergio Perez says the car is not ‘coming naturally’ to him over one lap as he bids to find more performance before Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying.
Perez has replaced Alex Albon alongside Max Verstappen in Red Bull’s 2021 line-up, after a career-best 2020 season in which he won the Sakhir Grand Prix and finished fourth in the world championship.
The experienced Mexican driver’s surprise Red Bull Racing shot – he is the first non-Red Bull junior driver to join the team since 2007 – is a make-or-break opportunity as Perez is only on a one-year deal.
He has admitted it will likely take a few races for him to get fully up to speed in the RB16B because pre-season testing was limited to just three days in total.
But Perez will be expected to adjust quickly if Red Bull continues to be as competitive as it has looked so far, with Verstappen quickest in Friday practice for the season opener and Perez only 10th-fastest, 0.656s slower.
“I think we are certainly making big steps all the time,” said Perez, who compared more favourably to Verstappen in FP2’s race simulations.
“We’ve got some work to do over a lap. I don’t quite feel the car within me.
“I’m still having to think a lot about what’s going on, it doesn’t seem to be coming natural over a lap.
“The long run, I seem to be more comfortable. I think the pace is there over the long run. So that’s the positive bit.
“But we’ve got some work to do on the performance side. And also with that soft tyre, we’ve got to be improving a bit more.”
Perez is renowned for being a Sunday star rather than a driver who aces qualifying, even though his record in that department is stronger than is often assumed.
And despite the clear room Perez has to improve, his deficit in FP2 was only fractionally larger than Albon’s qualifying gap to Verstappen in Bahrain last year.
In reality, Perez will be expected to lap within two or three tenths of Verstappen, who is one of the fastest drivers in F1 and ended the 2020 season with victory from pole position in Abu Dhabi.
“I’m pleased, I think the car is performing well, we have good pace, and it is going to be pretty close in qualifying,” said Perez. “We have to make sure we get it right and have a good start to the season.
“I think if we are able to get it right we should be in the mix.”
VERSTAPPEN VS TEAM-MATES IN RACE 1 QUAL
2020: -0.391s (Alex Albon, Red Bull)
2019: -1.700s (Pierre Gasly, Red Bull)*
2018: -0.273s (Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull)
2017: +0.103s (Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull)**
2016: -0.148s (Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso)
2015: +0.358s (Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso)***
* Gasly eliminated in Q1
** Ricciardo did not participate in Q3, time based on Q2
*** Verstappen eliminated in Q2
THE OTHER SEAT-SWAPPERS IN BAHRAIN
Perez is one of five major driver moves for the 2021 season. His switch to Red Bull was prompted by Sebastian Vettel taking his seat at what his now Aston Martin, while Vettel made that move because he lost his Ferrari drive to Carlos Sainz Jr.
That freed up Daniel Ricciardo to move to McLaren, with returning two-time world champion Fernando Alonso rejoining Renault – now known as Alpine – in Ricciardo’s place.
Sainz has enjoyed the best start to the Bahrain GP weekend of that quintet, setting the fourth-fastest time in practice. But his Ferrari predecessor Vettel and childhood hero Alonso were at the other end of the order, and left with the most work to do.
CARLOS SAINZ JR
FP2: 4th
“I managed to feel reasonably at home in the car.
“But as soon as the wind changes and it picks up it could be a completely different story. And I could be starting from scratch again and trying to find my feet.
“The trick here is just let the sessions go by, let the experience build and be patient.”
DANIEL RICCIARDO
FP2: 6th
“[What I need most is] more time working with the engineers and understanding the car. It’s probably just more laps and it’s just more in a way getting rid of old habits and just knowing that everything I get into this car now it’s all familiar.
“That’s why testing was good. We got to do a bunch and I did feel a lot better by day three.
“And it got better from FP1 to FP2.”
SEBASTIAN VETTEL
FP2: 14th
“Every lap helps me understand, we’re still trying new things but it seems like fun.
“I feel there’s a lot left on the table just to get used to the car and being able to squeeze the limit.
“Right now, it feels a bit up and down: sometimes I’m really good and in other corners, I’m far out. That’s normal, but hopefully I’m able to squeeze more consistently on the limit.”
FERNANDO ALONSO
FP2: 15th
“I think we have something in the pocket, to be honest, because the balance is different than the test.
“We are working around the set-up to fine-tune the balance. And I think we have good ideas.
“I’m confident we can do a good job tomorrow.”
